In an op-ed today, Obama says that "failed theories," "old ideological battles" and "narrow partisanship" are threatening the recovery bill. Is he right? Or is the problem the bill itself?

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Send to a friendIn an op-ed today, Obama says that "failed theories," "old ideological battles" and "narrow partisanship" are threatening the recovery bill. Is he right? Or is the problem the bill itself?

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President Obama is right. Each of the primary lines of criticism from the right is rooted in an unworkable ideological framework. For example, while tax cuts have a role to play, the economic consensus is that putting money in the hands of those most able to spend it immediately will do the most good in creating jobs. Mark Zandi at Moody’s Economy.com says $1 invested in food stamps yields $1.73 in GDP. And while the sudden interest in solving the root cause of crisis – foreclosures – is laudable, the solution – interest rate cuts – is just a prescription for more house flipping, one of the practices that got us here. To solve the problem we need to help people in foreclosure directly. And, of course partisans are circulating outright fabrications about the package, like ACORN’s $4 billion payoff. We wish! The recovery package is a solid piece of work, and though by no means perfect, is a giant leap towards putting America back to work.

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